Bruckner Mass No 2 in E minor
Mahler Symphony No 2 (Resurrection)
Saturday 13® March 1999
Guildford Cathedral
£1.50
“I know of only one who reaches up to Beethoven and
that is Bruckner”
Richard Wagner
“Whence do we come? Whither does our road take us?
What is the object of toil and sorrow? How am I to
understand the cruelty and malice in the creation of a
kind God? Will the meaning of life be finally revealed by
death?”
Gustav Mahler in a letter to Bruno Walter
Guildford Philharmonic Choir
President: Sir David Willcocks CBE, MC.
with the Wooburn Singers
Bruckner Mass No 2 in E Minor
Mahler Symphony No 2 (Resurrection)
Katy Tansey
Soprano
Jeanette Ager
Mezzo-Soprano
Jeremy Backhouse
Conductor
The Forest Philharmonic
The Guildford Philharmonic Choir would like to extend their warm
thanks to the Friends of the Guildford Philharmonic for sponsoring
tonight’s soloists and supplying programme sellers. They would also
like to thank their sponsors the Surrey Research Park and Beachcroft
Stanleys Solicitors for their generous support of this evening’s concert.
The Guildford Philharmonic Choir’s next concert will be a summer’s
evening of French choral and organ music to be held on Saturday 29
May in Guildford Cathedral. Tickets are already on sale and are available
from the Guildford Civic box office (01483 444555) and the Guildford
Tourist Office.
There will be a short interval between the two pieces of 10 minutes.
Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
Bruckner was a native of rural Upper Austria who was educated at the great monastery of
St Florian near Linz, where he maintained close links throughout his life, even after he
moved to Vienna. An organist of prodigious ability, he performed throughout Europe,
but as an improviser rather than a composer. He can now be recognised as one of the
greatest of symphonic composers, whose strongly personal musical style resulted from
his artistic integrity, his deep sensibilities and devout religious convictions.
During his lifetime, and for decades after his death, Bruckner’s music was largely
misunderstood, and nowhere more than in Vienna. In 1903, just seven years after he
died, there existed no fewer than twenty-five different versions of his nine numbered
symphonies, of which ten were published. It was not until the 1930s and the work of
Robert Haas and, later, Leopold Nowak, that efforts were made to return to the composer’s
original conceptions instead of accepting the revisions that had often been imposed on
the music by well meaning conductors and friends.
These problems derived from Bruckner’s unique style, the result of his devout Catholicism
and his Austrian rural background; the act of composing was part of his indestructible
religious life. Although his musical principles were essentially classical, his use of the
orchestra was wholly original, preferring separate instrumental groupings and sonorities
to complex textures, and building emphatic statements in blocks of sound. Bruckner was
a brilliant organist, and the sound-world of the organ in the resonant acoustic of a great
cathedral is relevant in his symphonies, as of course it is in his religious works. From
Wagner he derived his long time-spans, his weighty brass writing and expressive string
textures, while another recurring influence was Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and
especially its opening, in which the music makes us profoundly aware of its creative
growth.
Bruckner dedicated his final symphony, the unfinished Ninth, to the “Glory of GodTM; but
in each of his major works such a dedication would be entirely appropriate. Throughout
his life he remained entirely loyal to the Upper Austrian Catholic tradition into which he
had been born. In truth, his spiritual outlook never left the imagery and influence of his
beloved St Florian, one of Austria’s most wonderful examples of high baroque architecture.
Whenever his life brought him into contact with disappointment or crisis, he would always
return there for consolation; and in accordance with his wishes, after his death in Vienna
he was taken to St Florian, where he was buried beneath the organ.
Mass No. 2 in E minor
Bruckner composed the Mass in E minor during the autumn of 1866, shortly after
completing his Symphony No. 1. The motivation to write the Mass was linked to the
building of the new Linz Cathedral, delays to which meant that the work was not performed
until 1869. Even then the conditions were not ideal, and the premiere had to take place
in the open air, although this was not the cause of Bruckner’s decision to score the work
for wind instruments instead of the full orchestral body which he used in his two other
Mass settings. Rather his intention was to generate a special and austere spirituality,
captured to the full in the revised version of 1882, which he insisted was the authentic
edition.
Bruckner’s interest in the Renaissance polyphony of Palestrina finds rich reward in the
Mass. This can be felt immediately in the Kyrie, in which the orchestra is used only
4
sparingly, to support the chorus in generating an outlook of the utmost devotional sincerity.
The Gloria is more mobile; this movement and the succeeding Credo adopt the style of
the Viennese classical masses, with fast tempi and lively rhythms, although there are
abundant contrasts as dictated by the text. For example, the central section of the Gloria
is the restrained “Qui tollis peccata mundi”, while within the Credo movement the Et
incarnatus and Crucifixus sections are dignified and beautiful.
In the Sanctus the spirit of Palestrina is present once more, including a quotation from his
Missa Brevis. At the climax, however, the orchestra adds a powerful reinforcement to the
vocal texture. In the Benedictus and Agnus Dei, the orchestral role is more independent
and complex, forming a link between the vocal passages, until the concluding “Dona
nobis pacem” searches for eternity, in some of the most beautiful music Bruckner ever
created.
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Gustav Mahler was born at Kalicht in Bohemia on 7 July 1860, the second of fourteen
children. The first child, Isidor, had died in infancy, and of the subsequent twelve, six
died during childhood of diphtheria or similar scourges. Therefore the imagery of death
was with Mahler from the beginning: no wonder that his first composition, written at the
age of six, was entitled Polka, with introductory Funeral March.
Mahler was immensely gifted, studying in Vienna before developing a dual career as
conductor and composer. His career in the opera house brought him major appointments:
Prague, Hamburg and, at the age of just thirty-seven, the Directorship of the Vienna
Court Opera. This, together with guest conducting, left him with only the summer months
that he could dedicate to his first love, composition.
There can be little doubt that it was this enormous pressure on his time that made Mahler
concentrate on just two musical genres, the symphony and the song, and sometimes even
to combine them. Moreover, it probably encouraged his sense of quest, his search for
meaning, a search best explained through his own words: “I am thrice homeless: as a
Bohemian in Austria, as an Austrian in Germany, and as a Jew throughout the whole
world.”
Each of Mahler’s symphonies is concerned with the same issues, with what can essentially
be called the struggle between Life-force and Death-force, an extension of Beethoven’s
idea of triumph over Fate. To encompass so powerfully expressive an end, he opted for
an approach that made the symphony into a world, in which all kinds of images could
exist in order to fully develop the argument. This is why his symphonies vary so much in
style, length and layout, and why the performing resources required are so large.
From 1907, when a heart condition was diagnosed, Mahler lived under sentence of
death; thus his final works - Das Lied von der Erde, the ninth and tenth symphonies possess a valedictory quality. He died in Vienna on 18 May 1911, aged fifty.
Symphony No. 2 in C minor, ‘Resurrection’
“We stand by the coffin of a person well loved. His whole life, his struggles, his passions,
his sufferings and his accomplishments on earth once more for the last time pass before
us.
And now, in this solemn and deeply stirring moment, when the confusions and
distractions of everyday life are lifted like a hood from our eyes, a voice of awe-inspiring
5
solemnity chills our heart - a voice that, blinded by the mirage of everyday life, we
usually ignore: ‘What next? What is life and what is death? Why did you live? Why did
you suffer?”
So began Mahler’s own programme for his ‘Resurrection’ Symphony. Its creation took a
very long time, for he began the process in 1888, soon after the completion of his Symphony
No. 1, with a symphonic poem entitled Totenfeier (‘Funeral Rites’), in which the hero of
the existing Symphony is laid to rest. Only at a later stage did this become the first
movement of the new work, and during the summer of 1893 he composed movements
two to four, the Andante, the scherzo and the song Urlicht.
By now Mahler was Principal Conductor of the Hamburg Opera, and when he returned
there for the 1893-94 season these four movements were complete. However, a major
problem remained; namely, how to bring a work of such profound implications to its
conclusion? Understandably he found this task daunting; and when it came, the solution
to his dilemma arrived in remarkable circumstances. When Mahler attended the funeral
of the famous conductor-pianist Hans von Biilow, the impressive ceremony reached its
climax as the choir intoned Klopstock’s Resurrection Ode. The composer recalled: “It
was as if I had been struck by lightning; everything suddenly rose clearly before me”.
Thus it was that Klopstock’s Ode became the basis of the long finale.
Mahler believed that the symphony was like the world, a composition in which a whole
range of images and experiences could exist. Here the five movements span a period of
more than eighty minutes, and there is a huge orchestra of well over a hundred, together
with off-stage brass and percussion. In the last two movements, voices are added: soprano
and mezzo soloists and large choral forces. As these statistics indicate, the music is
wide-ranging emotionally; and in his customary fashion Mahler uses his large orchestra
as a series of chamber ensembles also. The extremes of dynamics extend as far as ppppp,
and the first choral entrance is perhaps the softest in the entire repertory. But on the other
hand, Mahler feared that some sections might be overpowering in their loudness: “If
anyone were told that the loudest parts in the first movement were only a weak child
compared to those in the finale, he would fear for his eardrums. How huge the sound
waves that are released here; they would kill one if the increase in sound intensity were
not such a gradual one. What effect I could have achieved with chorus and organ ifI had
used them earlier; but I wanted to save that for the climax and I would rather relinquish
its effect in other places.”
The general plan of the work is not unlike that of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, though
Mahler’s recurring preoccupation with the issues of life-force and death-force (typical
also of the time: Strauss’s Death and Transfiguration and Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique are
contemporary) led him to admit his special need. In 1897 he wrote: “When I draft a
large-scale composition, I invariably reach the point where I have to use the word as a
carrier of my musical ideas”.
The famous conductor Bruno Walter was among the audience at the first performance,
and from then onward “concluded with absolute finality that there lay my life’s work: to
pledge my future energies to Mahler’s creations”. Such enthusiasm, such belief and
commitment, always surrounds performances of this music, and Mahler himself knew it:
“The whole thing sounds as though it came to us from some other world. And I think
there is no-one who can resist it. One is battered to the ground and then raised on angel’s
wings to the highest heights.”
6
SYMPHONY COMMENTARY
MAHLER’S OWN PROGRAMME
I. Allegro maestoso
The first movement is not a funeral march in
the accepted sense, since tempi are wideranging and often quick. The mood does not
represent a dignified expression of grief, but
is full of anger, and from this standpoint
searches for consolation. The massive
structure is a sonata form comprising four
main elements: funeral music by turns epic
and fierce, a lighter nostalgic vein, gloomy
and brooding music which pervades the
development, and visionary moments which
imply eventual triumph. The latter often take
the form of a chorale (hymn-like)
transformation of the Dies Irae, creating a
mood that anticipates the finale, but this
gleam of hope is ruthlessly swept away.
The closing stages of the movement are
crucial to the Symphony’s general scheme.
Although a large structure full of contrasts,
it could not end triumphantly lest the impact
of the finale be compromised. Mabhler’s
solution, a mixture of exhaustion and
resignation, looks onward to the succeeding
movements, while he also specified that the
conductor should observe a five-minute
We stand by the coffin of a person well
loved.
His whole life, his struggles, his
passions, his sufferings and his
accomplishments on earth once more for
the last time pass before us. And now, in
this solemn and deeply stirring moment,
when the confusions and distractions of
everyday life are lifted like a hood from
our eyes, a voice of awe-inspiring
solemnity chills our heart - a voice that,
blinded by the mirage of everyday life, we
usually ignore: “What next? What is life
and what is death? Why did you live? Why
did you suffer? Is it all nothing but a huge,
frightful joke? Will we live on eternally?
Do our life and death have a meaning?”
We must answer these questions in some
way if we are to go on living - indeed, if we
are to go on dying! He into whose life this
call has once sounded must give an answer.
And this answer I give in the final
movement.
pause.
II. Andante moderato
This epic drama is followed by two shorter
movements. According to Mahler’s
original programme, the Andante is “a
memory, a ray of sunlight ... some longforgotten hour of shared happiness”. To
convey this mood there is a flowing
Austrian Lindler, whose principal theme
is a stream of melody featuring some
wonderfully effective string writing. But
darkness too makes its appearance; and this
contrasted trio at one point turns to ferocity.
Eventually calm is restored, and reestablishes itself as the prevailing mood.
A memory, a ray of sunlight, pure and
cloudless, out of the departed’s life. You
must surely have had the experience of
burying someone dear to you, and then,
perhaps, on the way back, some longforgotten hour of shared happiness
suddenly rose before your inner eye,
sending, as it were, a sunbeam into your
soul - not overcast by any shadow - and
you almost forgot what had just taken
place.
IIL In ruhig fliessender Bewegung (calmly flowing)
The scherzo is an orchestral version of
Mahler’s song, St Anthony of Padua’s
Sermon to the Fishes, of which he wrote:
“Not one of the fish is the wiser for the
sermon, even though the saint has performed
for them! But only a few people will
understand my satire on mankind.” This is
the first of the composer’s dark scherzos,
which form a significant aspect of his style.
Despite the instruction “calmly flowing”, the
tempo is swift, and the scoring emphasises
the negative philosophical stance. Percussion
is to the fore, the strings frequently play col
legno (with the wood of the bow) and
glissando, and there are sudden crescendos
and tempo changes. The principal theme is
heard at the outset and binds the structure
together, but the contrasting trio material is
modified through several episodes, ranging
from nostalgic melody to what Mahler called
“a scream of anguish”. In its later stages the
music evaporates to allow the fourth
When you awaken from that blissful dream
and are forced to return to this tangled life
of ours, it may easily happen that this surge
of life ceaselessly in motion, never resting,
never comprehensible, suddenly seems
eerie, like the billowing of dancing figures
in a brightly lit ballroom that you gaze into
from outside in the dark - and from a
distance so great that you can no longer
hear the music. Then the turning and
twisting movement of the couples seems
senseless. You must imagine that, to one
who has lost his identity and his happiness,
the world looks like this - distorted and
crazy, as if reflected in a concave mirror.
Life then becomes meaningless. Utter
disgust for every form of existence and
evolution seizes him in an iron grip, and
he cries out in a scream of anguish.
movement to follow without pause.
IV. Urlicht. Sehr feierlich (very solemn) - Alto solo
The mezzo-soprano’s song, Urlicht, also
comes from the folk source Des Knaben
Wunderhorn. Both the poem and the hymnlike setting are concerned with the
expression of faith. The chorale for brass
and woodwind brings a suitably solemn
mood, and now the heavenly voice leads
the troubled soul to God. The words
anticipate the issue to be developed and
Urlicht
Primeval Light
O Roschen rot!
O red rose!
Der Mensch liegt in groBter Not!
Der Mensch liegt in groBter Pein!
Je lieber mocht” ich im Himmel sein!
Man lies in deepest need,
Man lies in deepest pain.
Yes, rather would I be in Heaven!
Da kam ich auf einen breiten Weg:
I came upon a broad pathway:
An angel came and wanted to send me away.
Ah no! I would not be sent away!
I am from God and will return to God.
The dear God will give me a light,
Will light me to eternal, blessed life!
Da kam ein Engelein und wollt’ mich abweisen.
Ach nein! Ich lieB mich nicht abweisen!
Ich bin von Gott und will wieder zu Gott!
Der liebe Gott wird mir ein Lichtchen geben,
Wird leuchten mir in das ewig selig Leben!
8
resolved in the finale.
The moving voice of naive faith sounds in
our ears: “I am from God and will return
to God. The dear God will give me a light,
Will light me to eternal, blessed life!”
V. Im Tempo des Scherzo; Langsam; Maestoso; Allegro energico; Langsam;
“Der groBle Appell”
Langsam misterioso; mit Aufschwung, aber nicht eilen; Langsam
The finale links both emotionally and thematically with the opening movement. It
immediately bursts forth with the “scream of anguish” from the scherzo, which is followed
by a “vision of peace” and then the broad horn theme which Mahler identified with faith.
Already the movement’s vastness is established, for it is an epic evocation of Judgement
Day. From the structural point of view, the music clearly falls into seven sections. The
introduction, having reached the stillness of silence, concludes with an off-stage horn,
whose “call to Resurrection” is answered by woodwinds, trumpets and quiet strings.
Next the Dies Irae chorale theme from the first movement returns over pizzicato strings.
It adopts a new transformation which results in symbolic aspiring phrases in horns and
woodwinds, before these in turn die away.
A doleful cor anglais is heard against an
agitated accompaniment, and after reaching a climax this too subsides to silence. The
Dies Irae chorale returns in full solemnity, its portent invoking fortissimo presentations
of the aspiring figure. The Resurrection chorale is developed by the brass.
Once more we must confront terrifying questions. The movement starts with the same
dreadful scream of anguish that ended the Scherzo. The voice of the Caller is heard.
The end of every living thing has come, the Last Judgement is at hand, and the horror of
the day of days has come upon us. The earth trembles; the last trump sounds; the graves
burst open; all the creatures struggle out of the ground, moaning and trembling.
Out of this arises the fiercest of contrasts:
Now they march in a mighty procession:
a huge crescendo into an Allegro march,
rich and poor, peasants and kings, the
which acts a development section by
whole church with bishops and popes. The
subjecting the established material to
dead arrive and stream on in endless
ironic, even demoniacal, transformations.
procession. All have the same fear, all cry
“The dead arrive and stream on in endless
and tremble alike because, in the eyes of
procession.” When this section is brought
God, there are no just men.
to its full and shattering climax, the effect
mercy and forgiveness strikes fearfully in
The cry for
is one of sheer terror: “The cry for mercy
our ears. The wailing becomes gradually
and forgiveness strikes fearfully in our
more terrible.
ears”.
consciousness dies as the Eternal Judge
Qur senses desert us; all
approaches.
Peace is restored, and the imagery is laden
The trumpets of the Apocalypse ring out.
with symbolism. Off-stage brass, sounding
Finally, after all have left their empty
“as if in the far distance”, repeat the
graves and the earth lies silent and
Resurrection call, and it is answered by
deserted, there comes only the long-drawn
other fanfare figures and by bird calls in
note of the bird of death.
flute and piccolo.
dies.
Even it finally
Out of the stillness thus created the chorus enters, ppp, with Klopstock’s Resurrection
Ode. As the chorale proceeds, the soprano rises above the ensemble in an expression of
pure ecstasy. There is an orchestral interlude, quietly restating the main themes, including
the Resurrection chorale, until the chorus resumes.
What happens now is far from expected: Everything has ceased to exist. The gentle
sound of a chorus of saints and heavenly hosts is then heard. Soft and simple, the words
gently swell up: “Rise again, yea, thou shalt rise again!” Then the glory of God comes
into sight. A wondrous light strikes us to the heart. All is quiet and blissful. Lo and
behold: There is no judgement, no sinners, no just men, no great and no small; there is
no punishment and no reward. A feeling of overwhelming love fills us with blissful
knowledge and illuminates our existence.
Aufersteh’n, ja aufersteh’n wirst du,
Rise again, yea, thou shalt rise again,
Mein Staub, nach kurzer Ruh!
Unsterblich Leben! Unsterblich Leben!
Wird der dich rief dir geben.
My dust, after short rest!
Immortal life! Immortal life!
He who called thee will grant thee.
Wieder aufzubliih’n wirst du gesit!
Der Herr der Ernte geht
Und sammelt Garben
Uns ein, die starben!
To bloom again art thou sown!
The Lord of the harvest goes
And gathers in, like sheaves,
Us who died!
Onee more the orchestra takes over, and against tremolando violas the mezzo-soprano
sings the words Mahler himself added, treating of “defiant faith”, as if to answer the issues
he had raised in the first movement. When this faith is established, the soprano joins in.
O glaube, mein Herz, O glaube:
Es geht dir nichts verloren!
Dein ist, was du gesehnt!
Dein, was du geliebt,
Was du gestritten!
O glaube,
Du wardst nicht umsonst geboren!
Hast nicht umsonst gelebt,
Gelitten!
O believe, my heart, O believe
Nothing is lost with thee!
Thine is what thou hast desired,
What thou hast lived for,
What thou hast fought for!
O believe,
Thou wert not born in vain!
Hast not lived in vain,
Suffered in vain!
For contrast, the male voices take up the Resurrection chorale, moving powerfully from
pianissimo to fortissimo in a symbolic cry of hope. This brings a soaring response from
the two soloists, whose close imitations give the music both a greater intensity and a
more urgent pulse.
Was entstanden ist
Das muB} vergehen!
Was vergangen, auferstehen!
Hor’ auf zu beben!
Bereite dich zu leben!
10
What has come into being
Must perish,
What perished must rise again!
Cease from trembling!
Prepare thyself to live!
O Schmerz! Du Alldurchdringer!
Dir bin ich entrungen!
O Tod! Du Allbezwinger!
Nun bist Du bezwungen!
O pain, thou piercer of all things,
From thee have I been wrested!
O Death, thou masterer of all things,
Now art thou mastered!
The basses lead the entire chorus towards the final climax, the statement of faith, “I shall
die, to live”, soundedin glorious unison. Naturally this leads on to the return of the
Resurrection chorale, firstin the trumpets and then presented by chorus and soloists.
This powerful, indeed awe-inspiring, climax releases a broad orchestral peroration
complete with bells and organ, to set the seal on the whole conception andits affirmation
of faith.
Mit Fliigeln, die ich mir errungen,
In heiBem Liebesstreben,
Werd’ ich entschweben
With wings which I have won me,
In love’s fierce striving,
I shall soar upwards
Sterben werd’ ich, um zu leben!
I shall die, to live!
Zum Licht, zu dem kein Aug’ gedrungen!
To the light to which no eye has soared!
Zu Gott wird es dich tragen!
Rise again, yea, thou shalt rise again,
My heart, in the twinkling of an eye!
What thou hast fought for
Shall lead thee to God!
Notes © TERRY BARFOOT
(Courtesy of Cambridge University Press)
Aufersteh’n, ja aufersteh’n
Wirst du, mein Herz, in einem Nu!
Was du geschlagen
Translation by Deryk Cooke
THE KEY TO PLAYING MUSIC
YOU ‘LL FIND EVERYTHING YOU NEED AT BRITTEN'S
=
We have the largest printed music display in the
area including all examination music
Next day mail ordering service
Over 1000 musical instruments in stock
Cash sales at best prices, low cost monthly rentals
1000's of accessories, musical gifts
Instrument repair service
Teachers' register
Yamaha Music School and Technics Music Academy
for Keyboard and Piano
HELPFUI. CUSTOMER SERVICE IS OUR SPECIALITY
18 3}\’{!o
b!o! 53
)-1»)
11
Timeline
1824
Anton Bruckner born in Austria
1837
Accession of Queen Victoria to the throne
1842
Verdi has his first great success with his opera Nabucco in Milan
1846
Ether first used as an anaesthetic
1848
The great potato famine in Ireland
1856
Bruckner moves to Linz as church organist
1857
Elgar is born at Broadheath, near Worcester
1858
The Ringstrasse begins to be built in Vienna
1860
Gustav Mabhler born in Bohemia
1865
Bruckner attends the premier of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde in
Munich and is so overcome that he becomes one of the most
enthusiastic Wagnerians in Europe
1866
1868
Bruckner composes the Mass in E Minor
Bruckner appointed teacher of organ and theory at the Vienna
Conservatory
1869
The Mass in E Minor receives its first public performance
1876
Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone
1882
Bruckner fully revises the Mass in E Minor
1892
Wagner visits London for the only time to conduct performances
1896
Bruckner dies
1901
Queen Victoria dies
of his operas at the Theatre Royal
Mahler meets Alma Schindler at a Viennese dinner party on 7
November and proposes to her on 27 November. They are
married on 9 March 1902
1903
Wright Brothers’ first successful aeroplane flight
1907
Mahler’s terminal heart condition is diagnosed. His eldest
daughter dies from diphtheria at the age of five
1908
First model “T” Ford produced
1911
Mabhler dies and is buried in Grinzing next to the body of his
daughter Putzi with orders that only his name should appear on
the headstone. “Anyone who comes to look for me will know who
I was, and the rest do not need to know”.
12
wish the
Guildford Philharmonic Choir
a very successful evening
Solicitors
Beachcroft Stanleys, 100 Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1BN
Tel: 0171 242 1011 Fax: 0171 831 6630
Website Address: http://www.beachcroft.co.uk
Katy Tansey read music at Selwyn College, Cambridge
and is currently studying with David Pollard at the Guildhall
School of Music and Drama.
As a soloist she has performed in Britten’s War Requiem at
St Alban’s Abbey, Howells’ Hymnus Paradisi and
Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater with the Guildford
Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, as well as more
traditional repertoire such as Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony,
Haydn’s Creation, Handel’s Solomon with York University
and Mozart’s C Minor Mass at St John’s Smith Square.
Future engagements include Messiaen’s Chants de Terre et de Ciel at the Barbican Centre
and taking part in masterclasses and a concert of Britten song cycles with Roger Vignoles
at the Britten Pears School.
Jeanette Agel‘, who was born in Dorset, began her
singing studies at the age of twelve with Mary Denniss.
She was awarded an Exhibition to study at the Royal
Academy of Music, also supported by the Michael James
Trust. At the RAM she won many prizes, including the
Elena Gerhardt Lieder Prize, the Jennifer Vyvyan
Scholarship for Singing, the Flora Nielson Prize for French,
English and German Song, and the Helen Eames Prize for
Early Music. She is now continuing her studies with Linda
Esther Gray. In June 1998 Jeanette won the prestigious
Richard Tauber prize.
Her recent work has included Britten’s Phaedra with the Brunel Ensemble, Tippett’s
A Child of our Time, Duruflé’s Requiem at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Beethoven’s
Missa Solemnis at York Minster. In oratorio she has performed Haydn’s St Nicholas
with the London Mozart Players and the Choir of St John’s College Cambridge,
Handel’s Messiah in the Barbican Concert Hall and in Bermuda with the Bermuda
Philharmonic Society, and Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus at Winchester Cathedral. She
was also the contralto soloist in Anthony Milner’s Salutatio Angelico in Truro
Cathedral. Her operatic work has ranged from Glyndebourne Festival Opera Chorus
(1997 season) to Kent Opera (as a soloist).
For Hyperion, Jeanette Ager has recorded five pieces by Lili Boulanger as mezzo
soloist with the New London Chamber Choir conducted by James Wood. She was a
soloist in a Deutsche Grammophon recording of three songs for women’s choir by
Ruth Crawford called To An Unkind God.
Recent engagements include singing with the Glyndebourne Festival Opera Chorus
for their 1998 season. This summer, Jeanette is touring France singing the part of
Cherubino in Figaro’s Wedding with Diva Opera.
14
JEREMY BACKHOUSE began his musical career in Canterbury Cathedral
where he was Head Chorister, and later studied music at Liverpool University.
He spent five years as Music Editor at the Royal National Institute for the Blind,
where he was responsible for the transcription of print music into Braille. In
1986 he joined EMI Records as a Literary Editor and since April 1990 he has
combined his work as a Consultant Editor for EMI Classics with his career as a
freelance conductor and record producer.
From 1991 to 1995 he was Music Director of both the Streatham Choral Society
and the BBC Club Choir. With these choirs he conducted many of the major
works of the choral society repertoire and in doing so built close relationships
with the Kensington Symphony Orchestra and the Surrey Sinfonietta.
Jeremy Backhouse is the conductor of the Vasari Singers, widely acknowledged
as one of the finest chamber choirs in the country. Since winning the prestigious
Sainsbury’s Choir of the Year competition in 1988, they have performed regularly
on the South Bank and at St John’s, Smith Square in London, as well as in the
cathedrals of Canterbury, Chichester, Winchester, Hereford, Ely and
Peterborough. Jeremy and the Vasari Singers have broadcast frequently on BBC
Radios 3 and 4, and have made a number of recordings on the EMI Eminence,
United and Guild labels. His recording with the Vasari Singers of the Howells’
Requiem and Frank Martin Mass was nominated for a Gramophone Award in
1995 and was selected (along with their Britten CD) for inclusion in the 7996
Gramophone Good CD Guide (“Vasari succeed admirably ... it is beautifully
done - the singers also have athletic virtuosity. This is choral singing of a high
order”) and the Penguin Guide to Compact Discs 1995/96 (“Vasari, a choir
conducted by Jeremy Backhouse, are absolutely first class and give a well-nigh
exemplary performance, possibly finer than its immediate rivals. The present
account is quite masterly in every respect and Vasari get remarkably fine results.
A very convincing performance and an exemplary recording”).
In January 1995, he was appointed Chorus Master of the Guildford Philharmonic
Choir, working closely with conductors such as Jonathan Willcocks, En Shao
and Vernon Handley, as well as regularly conducting concerts with the choir and
orchestra alike. In November 1996 he conducted a performance of the Howells’
Hymnus Paradisi and Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater as part of the Guildford
Philharmonic’s Subscription series, and in 1997 a performance of Britten’s St
Nicolas. 1995 and 1996 saw him conducting the Guildford Philharmonic in the
highly popular outdoor Summer Festival concerts in Shalford Park, complete
with firework display. In 1997 he helped establish a competition to find the
Guildford Philharmonic Choir’s Young Singer of the Year. More recently he
conducted a memorable performance of Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius in
Guildford’s Civic Hall, the first public performance to be promoted by the choir
alone.
15
In 1996 he established a close rapport directing the Kent Youth Choir and Kent
Youth Chamber Choir, with whom he toured Italy that summer, conducting the
group in moving performances in the Duomo and Santa Croce in Florence and
in St Mark’s Venice.
Most recently he has been working with the Brighton Festival Chorus as an
assistant conductor, and in September 1998, became the Music Director of the
Wooburn Singers, only the third conductor in the distinguished 30-year history
of the choir, following Richard Hickox and Stephen Jackson.
PGleracd
The Forest Philharmonic was founded in the London Borough of Waltham
Forest in 1962 and has since become this country’s leading community orchestra.
Rivalling the highest professional standards, it uniquely combines the talents of
London’s best amateur musicians with those of its up and coming music students.
The orchestra has been joined by many international artists such as pianists J ohn Lill
and Ronan O’Hara, violinists Gyorgy Pauk and Tasmin Little, cellists Robert Cohen
and Natalie Clein, and singers Lesley Garrett, Della Jones and Patricia MacMahon.
The Forest Philharmonic is also regularly invited to perform around the country,
acting as an ambassador for the Borough of Waltham Forest and broadening the
orchestra’s repertoire of orchestral and choral works.
Tonight’s concert staging has been purchased by the Association of Surrey choirs with
the assistance of the Foundation for Sport and the Arts PO Box 20 Liverpool L13 1HB.
16
Guildford Philharmonic Choir
The Guildford Philharmonic Choir was founded in 1947 by the Borough of
Guildford to perform major works from the choral repertoire with the
Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra. Since this time, the Choir has grown
both in stature and reputation and can now rightly claim its place as one of
the foremost Choruses in the country.
The Choir grew to prominence under the batons of such eminent British
musicians as Sir Charles Groves, Vernon Handley and Sir David Willcocks.
Sir David remains in close contact with the Choir as its current President.
As well as being well known in the South East for performing the set-pieces
of the choral repertoire, the Choir has developed an interesting specialisation
in 20th Century British music, and has recorded Gerald Finzi’s “Intimations
of Immortality” and Patrick Handley’s “The Trees So High” under the
direction of Vernon Handley. Notable achievements in last year’s season
include an acclaimed performance of Handel’s Israel in Egypt with the
Freiburger Bachchor in Freiburg in May 1998 and Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius
at the Guildford Civic Hall in March 1998.
The Choir is currently enjoying rising to the challenge that a new Choral
Director of Jeremy Backhouse’s stature brings. Jeremy was appointed to the
post in January 1995 and has continued the tradition of attracting an everwider audience to the joys of choral music with recent memorable
performances of Howells Hymnus Paradisi and Britten’s St Nicholas.
The Choir is nearing the end of a challenging and exciting concert programme
for the 1998/1999 season. It will finish the season with an evening of French
choral and organ music in aid of the Chase Children’s Hospice, including
Fauré’s “Requiem”, to be held at Guildford Cathedral on Saturday 29 May
1999.
The Choir is always searching for new members to maintain its high standard
and auditions are held throughout the year. For further details about joining
the Choir or for information about any of our future concerts, please contact
Noreen Ayton Tel: (01932) 221918. Rehearsals are held on Monday evenings
throughout term time in central Guildford, and prospective members are most
welcome to attend rehearsals on an informal basis before committing to an
audition.
If you would like to find out more about how you can support the choir by
becoming a Benefactor, please contact Susan Ranft - Tel:(01306) 888870.
Our website address is http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/rodcuff/gpc.htm
17
Tenors
Sopranos
Altos
Jacqueline Alderton
Olivia Ames-Lewis
Joanna Andrews
Marion Arbuckle
Noreen Ayton
Mary Anne Barber
Penny Baxter
Andrea Bathory Nemeth
Leslie Harfield
Andrew Reid
Iris Bennett
Chris Robinson
Elizabeth-Claire Bazin
Mary Broughton
Viv Chamberlin-Kidd
Elaine Chapman
Sally Bailey
Iris Ball
Tamsin Bland
Jane Brooks
Amanda Clayton
Maura Dearden
Debbie Dring
Mary Clayton
Rachel Edmondson
Angela Hand
Andrea Dombrowe
Melanie Hezzell
Nora Kennea
Jane Kenney
Mo Kfouri
Friederike Kraus
Margaret Dentskevich
Valerie Edwards
Celia Embleton
Mandy Freeman
Karen Halahan
Ingrid Hardiman
Judith Lewy
Jo Harman
Pat McCully
Jacqueline Norman
Sheila Hodson
Susan Hinton
Susan Norton
Joy Hunter
Robin Onslow
Alison Palmer
Helen Lavin
Kay McManus
Margaret Parry
Christine Medlow
Vivienne Parsons
Mary Moon
Jessica Pires
Rosalind Plowright
Brenda Moore
Susan Ranft
Sue O’Connell
Kate Rayner
Gillian Rix
Gill Scott
Maureen Shortland
Dawn Smith
Judy Smith
Vicki Steele
Kathy Stickland
Claire Strudley
Carol Terry
Enid Weston
Chirstine Wilks
Elisabeth Willis
Lucinda Wilson
Frances Worpe
18
Jean Munro
Penny Overton
Anne Philps
Kate ackett
Lesley Scordellis
Catherine Shacklady
Gillian Sharpe
Prue Smith
Hilary Steynor
Rosie Storey
Hilary Trigg
Bob Bromham
Douglas Cook
Bob Cowell
John Trigg
Maggie van Koetsveld
Bass
Peter Allen
Peter Andrews
Richard Austen
Roger Barrett
John Paul Bland
John Britten
Neil Burton
Norman Carpenter
Neil Clayton
Rodney Cuff
Philip Davies
Michael Dawe
Simon Doran
Michael Dudley
Terence Ellis
Geoffrey Forster
Michael Golden
Nick Gough
Peter Herbert
Laurie James
Michael Jeffrey
Stephen Jepson
Tony Macklow-Smith
Neil Martin
Max New
Chris Newbury
Barry Norman
Janice Wicker
John Parry
June Windle
Maralyn Wong
David Ross
Beatrice Wood
Nigel Pollock
Philip Stanford
THE WOOBURN SINGERS
The Wooburn Singers were founded in 1967 by Richard Hickox, who remains their
President. In the three decades since, they have enjoyed an unusually varied existence,
firmly rooted in South Buckinghamshire but near enough to London to have made regular
appearances in most of the capital’s concert venues. Their first Prom appearance was in
1984, joining the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Vaughan Williams’s A Sea
Symphony. With Stephen Jackson’s appointment as Director of the BBC Symphony
Chorus in 1989 another fruitful link was established, and several BBC collaborations
followed: the Berlioz Te Deum in the 1990 Proms, a double bill of Verdi’s Quattro Pezzi
Sacri and Brahms’s Schicksalslied in 1992, and in 1994 a Royal Festival Hall performance
of Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast.
The Wooburn Singers’ recording credits include the Berlioz Te Deum under Abbado for
DG, Langlais’s Salve Regina and Burgon’s Requiem for Argo, and a compilation of Music
for the Last Night of the Proms with the RPO and Sir Charles Groves which was one of
the ten best-selling classical releases of 1990.
With trips to Venice, Paris and Prague in the last few years, foreign tours are now a
significant feature of the Wooburn Singers’ calendar. From September 1998 their Musical
Director has been Jeremy Backhouse.
1st sopranos
Maggie Burkinyoung
Ros Russell
Miriam Richardson
Judy Deats
Elizabeth Douglas
Pam Ehrlich
Joy Strzelecki
Ann Weaver
Jane Robinson
Geraldine Rowe
Katy Teare
Cheryl Teideman
Helen Cooke
Sally Cox
Imogen Dolin
Kate Goodwin
2nd sopranos
Alissa Stephenson
Emily Jacks
Robina Redgard-Siler
Chris Barber
Carolyn Bourne
Katherine Bradnock
Tracy Elliott
Ann Floyd
Helen McArthur
Lorraine Moses
Katharine Murray
Jean Packer
Emma Payne
1st altos
Jacqui de Bohun
1st tenors
David Flinders
Ian Gordon
Bill Richards
Roger Webber
2nd tenors
Mark Johnstone
John Peasgood
Mark Sutton
Jeremy Wicks
Barbara Southwell
2nd altos
Judith Crofts
1st basses
Martin Barber
David Bourne
Neil Cooper
Pat Howell
Jeremy Rowe
Diane Isaacs
Sarah Johnson
Edwin Smith
Chris Locke
2nd basses
Laurence Beard
Chris Glover
Neville Holmes
19
Patrons of the
GUILDFORD PHILHARMONIC CHOIR
The Choir would like to express its thanks to all its supporters, and
in particular to its Patrons and Friends who are as follows:Patrons
AutoTrader
Mr and Mrs Bill Bellerby MBE
Dr Rodney Cuff
Mr Michael Dawe
Mr and Mrs Norman Hobbs
Mr Ronald Medlow
Mrs Jean Radley
PRR Partners
Mrs Jean Shail
Friends
Britten’s Music Ltd
Dega Broadcast Systems
Miss Annie Chatterley
Mrs Mary Dodds
Dr William Dodds
Dr Michael Kearsley
Mr and Mrs Michael Kilkenny
Ms Carole Harding Roots
Mr and Mrs John Oliver
Lord Onslow
Miss Elizabeth Ranft (the Globe Theatre)
Mr and Mrs James Ranft
Mr Ian Rayner
Mr Michael Sharpe
Mr Edward Varley
If you are interested in becoming either a Friend or a Patron of
the Guildford Philharmonic Choir please contact Susan Ranft
(01306) 888870.
20